Fixing Sentence Fragments & Run-Ons: Fifth Grade English Student Guide

Grammatically sound writing requires complete, balanced thoughts, free from the fragmented gaps of missing parts and the chaotic collisions of run-on sentences.

Diagnosing and Repairing Sentence Fragments

A sentence fragment is a piece of a sentence pretending to be a complete sentence. A fragment is capitalized at the beginning and has an end mark, but it fails the test of a true sentence because it is missing a subject, missing a predicate, or leaving a dependent clause hanging unfinished.

+--------------------------------------------------------------+
|                 THE THREE TYPES OF FRAGMENTS                 |
+-------------------+------------------------------------------+
| MISSING SUBJECT   | "Darted across the moonlit field."       |
|                   | (Who or what darted? Subject missing!)   |
+-------------------+------------------------------------------+
| MISSING PREDICATE | "The mysterious explorer in the shadows."|
|                   | (Did what? Predicate verb missing!)      |
+-------------------+------------------------------------------+
| UNATTACHED        | "Because the blizzards arrived early."   |
| DEPENDENT CLAUSE  | (What happened as a result? Incomplete!) |
+-------------------+------------------------------------------+

The Three-Question Sentence Test

To determine whether a string of words is a true sentence or a fragment, ask these three questions: First, does it have a subject? Second, does it have a verb? Third, does it express a complete thought? If the answer to any question is "no," you have identified a fragment.

Strategies for Repairing Fragments

To fix a fragment, you can supply the missing component (add a subject or verb), or attach the unattached dependent clause to an adjacent independent clause: "Because the blizzards arrived early, the mountaineers postponed their expedition."

Diagnosing and Repairing Run-On Sentences

A run-on sentence occurs when two or more independent clauses are joined together without the proper punctuation or connecting words. Run-ons are not defined by length; even a four-word sentence can be a run-on: "He ran she walked."

+--------------------------------------------------------------+
|                     THE RUN-ON SPECTRUM                      |
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| FUSED SENTENCE:                                              |
| Two independent clauses slammed together with no punctuation.|
| "The storm broke the ship rolled violently."                 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| COMMA SPLICE:                                                |
| Two independent clauses joined by only a comma (too weak!).  |
| "The storm broke, the ship rolled violently."                |
+--------------------------------------------------------------+

The Four Methods to Fix Run-On Sentences

Every run-on sentence can be repaired using one of four proven grammatical remedies:

+--------------------------------------------------------------+
|                 FOUR REMEDIES FOR RUN-ONS                    |
|                                                              |
| 1. Separate into two sentences:                              |
|    The storm broke. The ship rolled violently.               |
|                                                              |
| 2. Add comma + coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS):           |
|    The storm broke, and the ship rolled violently.           |
|                                                              |
| 3. Connect with a semicolon:                                 |
|    The storm broke; the ship rolled violently.               |
|                                                              |
| 4. Convert one clause into a dependent clause:               |
|    When the storm broke, the ship rolled violently.          |
+--------------------------------------------------------------+

Exercises and Solutions

Exercise 1: Diagnosing Fragments and Run-Ons. Identify whether each item is a complete sentence, a fragment, or a run-on sentence: Item A: "Climbing toward the snow-capped peak without adequate supplies." Item B: "The telescope tracked the comet it traveled across the southern sky." Item C: "After the rain stopped, the children constructed a fort."

Solution 1: Item A is a fragment because it lacks both a subject and a finite verb (it is a participial phrase). Item B is a fused run-on sentence because two independent clauses are joined with zero punctuation. Item C is a complete, well-punctuated complex sentence.

Exercise 2: Repairing Errors. Correct the following run-on sentence using two different methods: "The library closed early today the severe ice storm made travel hazardous."

Solution 2: Method 1 (Comma + Conjunction): "The library closed early today, for the severe ice storm made travel hazardous." Method 2 (Subordinating Dependent Clause): "Because the severe ice storm made travel hazardous, the library closed early today."